Full Breakdown
Saints Secure Chris Olave with Four-Year, $132 Million Extension
7/31/2026, 5:53:22 AM
Core Event
The New Orleans Saints have reached a four-year contract extension with wide receiver Chris Olave that could total $132 million, including $90 million guaranteed. The deal runs through the 2030 season and replaces the fifth-year option that would have covered the 2026 campaign. The organization announced the agreement without releasing a full breakdown of yearly salaries.
Background & Context
Olave, a 2022 first-round pick from Ohio State, entered the 2025 season still under his rookie contract after a year of negotiations that began at the start of the previous season. His health history—multiple concussions in 2024 and a blood clot that required anticoagulants at the end of that year—was cited as a “variable” in the talks. Despite those setbacks, Olave posted career-best numbers in 2025: 100 receptions, 1,163 receiving yards and nine touchdowns across 16 games, earning second-team AP All-Pro honors.
Data & Statistics
- Contract value: up to $132 million over four years.
- Guaranteed money: $90 million.
- Annual average value: roughly $33 million, making Olave one of the highest-paid receivers in the league.
- The deal surpasses the Saints’ previous top receiver contract, Michael Thomas’s five-year pact that paid up to $20 million per season in 2019.
Official Statements & Responses
Saints head coach Kellen Moore emphasized that the “business side” and the “football side” sometimes overlap, noting that clear communication among staff, players and management is essential to maintaining team chemistry. General manager Mickey Loomis described Olave’s attitude as consistently enthusiastic and optimistic, praising his conduct throughout the negotiation period and highlighting the player’s health as a factor that influenced the agreement. Olave expressed gratitude for the organization’s support during his medical challenges and reiterated his desire to remain with the Saints.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The contract is a whole different side of the game. It's the business side. I feel like we going to come down to that before training camp. I hope we do so we don't affect the chemistry and stuff going into training camp, but I think it's going to get done soon,” — Chris Olave
- “Chris has been as enthusiastic and optimistic as anyone. So really, really appreciate the way he's conducted himself. And that's not just this year, it's every year with Chris. So he's an absolute joy to have on our team,” — Mickey Loomis, saints general manager
- “It's an element. It's a variable in there. I don't want to get into the details of what we talked about, but that's certainly a variable,” — Mickey Loomis, saints general manager
- “This is where I want to be, man. They took a chance on me,” — Chris Olave
